Is There an Age Limit on Sexy? Caitlyn Jenner, Madonna, and More Ignite the Ageism Debate

The news today that Caitlyn Jenner is reportedly slated to pose on the cover of Sports Illustrated in nothing more than an American flag and her gold medal—to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Jenner setting a world decathlon record at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics—has taken the Internet by storm. Debates are taking shape on Twitter and Facebook over whether the I Am Cait star should take the revealing plunge, and although the body-positive act could be a landmark moment for the transgender community, it would also defy a subtler social taboo.

At 66, Jenner would be the oldest woman to grace the cover of the magazine, which recently made headlines for including 56-year-old Nicola Griffin in its annual swimsuit issue. While strides are being made for universal body acceptance in terms of shape, weight, and height, the celebration of a woman’s body after 50 still carries a certain stigma. Just a few days ago, at the Met Gala, 57-year-old Madonna came under fire for her revealing bondage-inspired Givenchy gown. The singer, who has spent her career exploring sexuality—from her Blond Ambition tour which was nearly shut down in Toronto to that infamous 2003 MTV Video Music Awards Britney Spears kiss—posed confidently on the red carpet and danced joyfully at the party in her Riccardo Tisci–designed lace cutout dress, which highlighted her breasts and butt.

Almost immediately, chastising comment threads started on Twitter, including one from Piers Morgan, who simply asked the singer to “Put. It. Away.” Meanwhile, 33-year-old Nicki Minaj, who debuted a similar curve-revealing S&M-themed Moschino dress for the event, received accolades for her body confidence in headlines and online. And models Karlie Kloss and Irina Shayk, who shared the red carpet in strategic cutaway gowns, barely raised mention.

“When it comes to women’s rights we are still in the dark ages,” Madonna said in response on Instagram yesterday. “My dress at the Met Ball was a political statement as well as a fashion statement. The fact that people actually believe a woman is not allowed to express her sexuality and be adventurous past a certain age is proof that we still live in an age-ist [sic] and sexist society.”

Madonna is certainly not the first person to point out the age bias, raising larger questions about society’s gender-skewed stance on female sensuality. “You’re so punished in this business,” said Susan Sarandon, the now 69-year-old actress famous for refusing to put an expiration date on her bombshell sexuality, in a 2013 interview. “You lose work because you get old and fat. That’s when they write you off.” It’s a sentiment that was echoed last year in Amy Schumer’s viral skit, “Last F**kable Day,” in which Julia Louis-Dreyfus jabs at industry standards by deadpanning that some time after 40, “You finally reach the point when you’re not believably fuckable anymore.”

As Sarandon mused, addressing the larger issue at hand, “There’s the inevitability of the deterioration of the physical that forces you to think, really, what is beauty?” Let’s hope Jenner’s cover offers a reminder to those who pass it on newsstands that what they’re looking at is a woman who has broken Olympic records, expanded social boundaries with her bravery, and refused to be stigmatized. That’s beautiful at any age.